there's room to grow
by leonettetyrell
Summary: Well, this didn't go along with the plan at all. / A guess at the events surrounding the Day of the Moon.


"River."  
>"Yes?"<br>"It's time."

And River Song, long term friend and short term lover of the one thousand one hundred year old doctor, knows exactly what he means.

He hands her a time vortex, explains how to use it, and she nods.  
>And then she's gone.<p>

(&)

"River, I need you to do me a favor."  
>"And what would that be, sweetie?"<br>"There will come a time, not now, when I will need you to travel back in time, and act as my…lover," he says, whispering the last word in that special way of his.

And River, swallowing her love for him in her throat, asks: "Why?"  
>"Because Amy Pond, the girl who waited, needs to realize that she is in love with me. And these humans, their true emotions tend to come out when there's a threat."<br>"I'm a threat?"  
>"Of course you are. You are an incredibly powerful woman who knows more about her Doctor than she does. You threaten the relationship I have with Amy- you may whisk me away and we'll never come back."<br>"I see. But why does she need to realize that, exactly?"  
>"Because she and I will create a child who will change everything."<br>"Do you love her, Doctor?"

He doesn't respond, but River knows the answer anyway.  
>"Be careful, Doctor. You're playing with something bigger than the universe: love."<br>"Love is just an emotion and is therefore part of the universe. All will right itself in the end."

And she knows that she can't fix what will happen until it's done.

(&)

River appears just when the Weeping Angels are planning to break everything in two.  
>She saves the day, of course. Her darling Doctor has big plans in his future that she knows about.<br>It hurts when she looks at Amy, because she knows what will become of her.  
>The Doctor will use her, but once their child is in River's control, as the Doctor has explained to her, Amy's heart will be broken and she will go home.<br>And Rory…poor Rory. River's heart breaks for him.  
>She'll be his friend, she swears, because after this mess, he won't want very much to do with anyone.<p>

(&)

Amy Pond kisses him, and almost sleeps with him; and the Doctor doesn't expect it, and he tries to set things right.  
>But he doesn't know that this is all part of his plan, and that these steps are necessary.<p>

They save the universe (as always) with River's help after the Doctor gets trapped in the Pandorica, Rory dies and comes back as a plastic Roman soldier, and Amy nearly dies thanks to her imagination. River herself almost gets blown up, but the Doctor comes to save her.

She holds back her love, but makes her witty flirtatious remarks anyway.

It's almost enough.

(&)

"How fares the mission, my love?"  
>"You know how it's faring."<br>"But I'd like to hear another perspective."

She turns over in the bed.

"You don't have to. So I won't."

He smiles on the inside, but a part of him knows this can't last forever.

(&)

River failed.  
>She thinks she did, anyway.<p>

There's a person in a space suit and the Doctor is killed, he's _dying._  
>A part of this seems familiar to River, but she doesn't know why.<p>

She slaps his nine hundred and nine year old self when she sees him in the diner.  
>Then she realizes that he doesn't know.<p>

And then it hits her.  
>Her Doctor has three years left to live back in her time.<p>

(&)

"Doctor. It's important."  
>"Nothing is more important that what's going on right now!"<br>"I'm pregnant!"

He looks up at her in disbelief. His Amy. The girl who waited fourteen years for him.  
>Pregnant with Rory Williams' child.<p>

_Well, this didn't go along with the plan at all_, River thinks.

Then it turns out that she's not pregnant  
>(and the Doctor's relieved. It was hard enough watching her pregnancy five years into the future)<br>and the mission can go on.

(&)

"You're my friend. My best friend".

River smiles, because now it's just a hop, skip, and a jump until the mission can be completed.

(&)

"I love you."  
>"Amy, this can't work, I'm over nine hundred years old…we've been through this!"<br>"And I don't care, I've told you."  
>"No, you said you weren't looking for anything long-term!"<br>"Doctor…it's you. It's always been you. What I said when I was captured by the Silence…it really was about you."

River's heart breaks a little bit.

"What about Rory?"  
>"I'll think of something. I always think of something when it comes to Rory. Just like you always come back."<p>

(&)

"Amy, where were you last night?"  
>"I was exploring the TARDIS. You know how she's always changing. I wound up going for a swim that lasted all night."<br>River can sense the lies, and she's only receiving this memory via the Doctor.

(&)

Rory's kissing Amy in bed.  
>"mmm…Amy, can we?"<br>She turns her head and groans.  
>"Oh, Rory, not tonight. I can't."<p>

He feels the rejection creeping in.  
>He falls asleep; Amy counts to one hundred and sneaks quietly out of the room.<p>

(&)

She and the Doctor have a night game.  
>Amy tries to hide in his room for as long as possible, but he always sees her.<br>He gets up and sneaks up behind her, and grabs her around the waist and tosses her on the bed.  
>The Doctor then attacks her lips, and it always ends the same way.<p>

So it doesn't surprise River when the next time she comes onto the TARDIS, Amy says in her quintessential voice:  
>"River, I'm pregnant. And it's real this time."<br>"Well, who's the father?"  
>"Not Rory."<br>"Then I know who it is. He's made his impression on you, hasn't he?"

Amy nods.  
>"You're not the first, or the last. Just remember that, sweetie."<br>"It's going to be different, River. He loves me. We're going to go through this together."  
>River smiles. "Whatever you say, dear."<p>

(&)

River goes back to her own time after saving everyone on the TARDIS yet again.  
>She goes to kiss her one thousand one hundred and one year old Doctor, and is shocked when he doesn't respond.<br>"What's wrong, Doctor?"  
>"My daughter...and Amy. What if I made the wrong choice?"<br>"What on earth do you mean?"  
>"I should have stayed, River. Amy needed me and I left her."<br>"She left you, sweetie. Remember that."  
>The Doctor looks up at her and says:<br>"No, she didn't."

(&)

"What do you mean, you're pregnant?"  
>"I'm leaving you as well."<br>Rory's stunned. "But why?"  
>"I've always said I'm not the marrying kind. I don't want to be tied down. This marriage is stifling; and I know you want to go home. I want to stay, though. I always want to travel with the Doctor."<br>"It's ok if you love him more than you love me, Amy. I just wish…that things could have been different."  
>They hug.<br>"I'm really sorry Rory. I just can't anymore. And the baby…she needs stability, not parents who are always at odds because of their lifestyle preferences."  
>He nods. "She's not mine."<br>Tears roll down her face as she says:  
>"No, she's not. But you'll always be her Uncle Rory."<br>"I appreciate it."  
>She sniffs and brushes off her tears.<br>"So you'll be coming back, right?"  
>"Of course."<p>

(&)

The Doctor and the TARDIS are ecstatic when they find out Amy's staying and Rory's leaving.  
>He picks Amy ups and swings her around once they're alone in the TARDIS, and she tells him the news.<br>"We're having a baby girl!"

And the Doctor swears nothing's ever felt so right.

River leaves silently from her corner of the TARDIS.

(&)

Back in River's time, her bedmate has aged another year. When she goes back, the baby will be born and named.

She feels him slipping away.  
>She's slowly dying.<p>

She decides to visit Rory.

(&)

"It hurts, doesn't it?"  
>He's crying alone in the home he shared with Amy.<br>Rory's holding the picture of the Doctor, Amy, and the new baby.  
><em>We've decided to name her Ophelia Pond. Her Uncle Rory can come visit anytime he likes.<br>Love, Amy, The Doctor, and little Ophelia too._  
>"How do you manage, River?"<br>She's taken aback.  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"Oh please, I see the way you look at the Doctor. You're in love with him. All women are."  
>"Look, Rory. Sometimes there are things bigger than us."<br>"What's bigger than love?"  
>And she doesn't have an answer.<p>

(&)

"Do you believe in a God, River?"  
>"I do. Somebody has to give you the jobs you have. Somebody has to be controlling everything in this universe. There are still things bigger than you, sweetie."<br>The Doctor looks disappointed.

When she wakes up the next morning, he's gone.  
>And she knows she won't be able to find him.<p>

(&)

Two hundred years earlier, a similar situation takes place.  
>"Do you believe in God, Amy?"<br>"No. Why should I have to? I believe in you."  
>"So you think that all of this," he says, waving his arms around to indicate the TARDIS, "all this happened by chance or fate?"<br>"Doesn't everything?"

And he kisses her and Ophelia wakes up and Amy goes to get her.  
>She gurgles when she sees the Doctor, her daddy, and he swears nothing's ever felt so right.<p>

(&)

River comes back to visit Ophelia.  
>All Ophelia knows about River is that she's from the future, and when she comes, and Mommy and Daddy leave the TARDIS with River, Ophelia isn't allowed to leave.<br>So she explores her home, her ever-changing, ever-shifting home.  
>And one day, when she opens the door to her room, River's sitting on her bed.<br>Her five year old self doesn't understand.  
>"Auntie River, how are you here? You just left with Mummy and Daddy."<br>River places a finger to her lips.  
>"That's a younger version of me, sweetie. We're going somewhere, ok? Hold onto my wrist."<br>And, never imagining the consequences of this simple action, Ophelia grabs on and is whisked away.

(&)

"Stay here, Ophelia, ok?"  
>The year is 1967; River has dropped Ophelia off at an orphanage.<br>Her two hearts are beating so fast and she's scared. Something about this place isn't right.  
>"Now listen, Ophelia. The next few times you see your parents, they're not going to know who you are. In their time, you haven't been born yet. So I want you to try to stay calm, no matter what happens, ok? I know you're going to get scared, but remember that you're the daughter of a Time Lord and the feistiest and bravest companion I've ever met. You can handle this."<br>Little Ophelia nods dumbly; River kisses her forehead and disappears.

Ophelia turns around, and there's a Silence standing there.  
>She wants to scream; instead, she counts to fifty and starts to run.<p>

(&)

"Ophelia, we're back!"  
>Nothing echoes back to them, no cries of "Mummy!" or "Daddy!"<br>"Ophelia?"  
>"Doctor, where is she?"<br>"Well, she's not here, obviously. I would think that she's somewhere else."  
>"Don't be stupid. Have a good day here; this is our daughter, Doctor. We have to find her."<br>"That girl in the spacesuit…do you remember what she looked like?"  
>"Yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with this!"<br>"I think that's Ophelia."

Amy breaks down on the ground sobbing.  
>"We're never going to get her back, are we?"<br>"I don't think so."  
>"You have to fix this, Doctor. Please."<br>"Well, of course I have to fix it. She's my daughter too, damnit!"  
>"I'm sorry."<br>The Doctor takes a deep breath.  
>"We're going to get through this together, alright Amy?"<br>"Ok Doctor. Her life in our hands."

(&)

_Why did Mommy try to shoot me? _Ophelia thinks.  
>"Please help me!"<br>"I didn't mean to shoot you, I really didn't!"  
>"Please help…"<br>_River said they wouldn't remember me. Mommy, help me. It's me, Ophelia. PLEASE MOMMY HELP ME!  
><em>The Silence take away her mother; Ophelia can escape.  
>She winds up in New York City on the verge of death, and she's never been so thankful that her father is a Time Lord.<br>She regenerates, and worries that Mommy and Daddy won't recognize her now.  
>River stalks away from the alley, and whispers to herself, finally:<br>"Mission complete."

(&)

"You promised me nothing would change, Doctor."  
>"I never promised that. You assumed that."<br>And River knows that she's in the wrong this time.  
>Everything's changing in her time, and there's nothing River can do about it.<p>

(&)

"Amy, you have to leave."  
>"Why?"<br>"It's time for you to move on with your life."  
>"You are my life. This is my life. We still haven't found our daughter. How can I possibly ever leave?"<br>"You're not going to, sweeties."  
>"River Song!"<br>"Sit. I'll explain everything."

The Doctor kicks River out of the TARDIS afterwards, but she knows that she'll be welcomed back.  
>She always is.<p>

(&)

Four numbered envelopes, TARDIS blue, go into the mail.  
>Five people show up; one doesn't see his own death.<p>

"It's ok, I know it's you."  
>River Song's face is revealed behind the mask of the astronaut's suit.<br>"Nothing was supposed to change, sweetie. But you left me."  
>She weaves her head to the side.<br>"Look at me. I think I'm a monster, but I don't know it's me."  
>"You don't have to do this, River."<br>"Oh, but I do. I have to kill the best man I've ever known so that everything in your past involving me, which is a great deal, will occur."  
>And she shoots him once, twice, three times, and cuts off his regeneration cycle.<br>As he begins to die, he looks at Amy, who will know what this means in ten years' time, and says:  
>"I'm sorry."<p>

(&)

"Amy, I'm going to ask you to leave."  
>"Why?"<br>"Because one, we're never going to find our daughter, and two, we can't continue like this."  
>"But we can."<br>"Go back to Rory the Roman. He needs you; he's been waiting for you."  
>"I can't leave you, Doctor. I don't know what I'll do without you."<br>He looks at her and says:  
>"Well, I guess you're going to learn how to survive then."<p>

"I love you."  
>He stops, and walks over to her. He takes her hands in his, and presses his forehead against hers.<br>"I love you too. But you have to go; I'll put you in so much danger if you stay. I'm going to find her, Amy. And when I do, I'll come back for you, ok?"  
>She cries softly, and agrees.<p>

(&)

River Song, as her last act before entering prison after being on the run for eight months, takes Ophelia Pond to Leadworth and leaves her there.  
>River is transported up by the prison ship, just as the TARDIS lands.<p>

"Daddy!"  
>And his smile beams as he runs toward her.<br>"Ophelia!"  
>And they hug so tightly, like it will never end.<p>

"Let's go find Mummy, shall we?"

(&)

Rory answers the door when they come calling.  
>"This must be little Ophelia Pond! Come in, come in. Nice to see you again, Doctor."<br>"As with you. Where's Amy?"

Rory motions that he'll talk about it later.  
>Later comes, and the Doctor cries for the first time in a long time.<br>"Dead? But how?"  
>"She wanted adventure…she tried to climb Mt. Everest and got lost. They found her body covered in frostbite. Hypothermia, they said. But she's not coming back."<br>"Show me that's she's dead. I…won't believe it."

(&)

Ophelia places some flowers at her mother's tombstone, before joining her father in the TARDIS.  
>"Who brought you to Leadworth?"<br>"River Song, Daddy."  
>"I could bloody kiss her."<p>

**Fin.**

**A/N: **First time writing for Doctor Who; I hope I did ok with the characters! This is just my thoughts on what could have happen with this series; most of them probably won't happen, but it's fun to write about them anyway!

Review and let me know what you think.


End file.
